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Brands clamor to tie themselves to Cleveland hero

When Charles Ramsey heard screams coming from his neighbor’s house Monday—screams from one of three women who had been missing for more than a decade—he was just sitting down to eat a meal from McDonald’s.

He left that meal to go find out what the commotion was, a decision that led to the rescue of the three kidnapped women. Still, McDonald’s took note of the detail that Ramsey had chosen its food for his lunch:

We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their privacy. Way to go Charles Ramsey- we'll be in touch.

The company didn’t elaborate on whether getting “in touch” meant an endorsement deal, a job, free food, or something else, though it’s clear McDonald’s was happy to associate itself with the man whose Monday evening TV interview has become a viral sensation with millions of views.

McDonald’s isn’t the only brand Ramsey appears to favor: He kicked off a Wednesday interview with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" by flashing a can of Red Bull to the camera, indicating it’s keeping him going as all the media attention continues.

For its part, Red Bull hasn’t said anything publicly about Ramsey, so whether the company asked him to promote the drink or he just had a can on hand isn’t totally clear. Near the end of the GMA interview, Stephanopoulos asked Ramsey what it felt like to be a viral sensation who has gotten the auto tune treatment.

“If people are happy…” he trailed off before flashing a peace sign to the camera.